Successful management of a high-risk pregnancy with polyhydramnios, IUGR and recurrent pregnancy loss in a chronic renal failure patient: a case report.

Pregnancy in patients with chronic renal failure occurs rarely but the incidence is increasing. The successful management of a 38-year-old woman suffering from chronic renal failure is discussed.

Simvastatin therapy in lymphocyte cross-match-positive kidney transplantation candidates.

OBJECTIVES: Recent identification of several mechanisms by which statins decrease recruitment of monocytes and T cells into the arterial wall and inhibit both T-cell and B-cell activation and proliferation in vitro prompted us to study the immunomodulatory effects of statins. In this study, we examined the effect of simvastatin therapy on lymphocyte cross-match positivity in kidney transplantation candidates. METHODS: Simvastatin therapy (20 mg/d) was administered to 25 patients (18 men, 7 women of mean age 34 +/- 11.7 years who displayed positive lymphocyte cross-matches between July 2002 and October 2004. The etiologies of end-stage renal disease were vesicoureteral reflux (n = 5), urinary stone disease (n = 4), glomerulonephritis (n = 6), amyloidosis secondary to familial Mediterranean fever (n = 1), and unknown (n = 9). RESULTS: The lymphocyte cross-match became negative in 10 patients 4-9 months, and successful kidney transplantation was performed in 6 of them. The serum creatinine levels of these patients ranged between 0.8 and 1.4 mg/dL. Two patients required higher doses, but none suffered from adverse effects. The remaining 4 patients are still undergoing pretransplantation evaluation. CONCLUSION: Simvastatin therapy seems to be a cost-effective and useful method for lymphocyte cross-match-positive kidney transplantation candidates compared with immunoadsorption or intravenous immunoglobulin use.

Sirolimus as primary immunosuppression agent in kidney transplant recipients: Akdeniz University experience.

OBJECTIVES: Recently usage of sirolimus as the primary immunosuppressant is widening among kidney transplant recipients. We reviewed the clinical follow-up of patients transplanted at our center using sirolimus protocols. METHODS: Sirolimus including primary immunosuppressive treatment protocols were begun in February 2002. Among the 21 patients (15 men, six women) who received sirolimus, six patients were prescribed sirolimus + prednisolone; seven, sirolimus + mycophenolate mofetil + prednisolone; and eight, sirolimus + cyclosporine + prednisolone. The mean age of the patients was 32.9 +/- 7.3 years and the mean posttransplantation follow-up, 13.2 +/- 4.5 months. RESULTS: Three patients experienced acute rejection episodes, which were treated successfully with steroids. None of the patients had either hematologic or wound healing problems. Lymphoceles developed in eight patients. Serum creatinine level was 1.4 +/- 0.5 mg/dL at 12 months. There was a serious increase in serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels starting from the first month posttransplant (total cholesterol levels pretransplant and at 1 month, respectively: 159.3 +/- 29.5 and 255.7 +/- 52.3 mg/dL, P = .0001; triglycerides pretransplant and at 1 month, respectively: 146.9 +/- 89.5 and 215.1 +/- 102.5 mg/dL, P = .001). Despite routine antihyperlipemic treatment those high levels were maintained for 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: We achieved 100% graft and patient survival rates for 1 year among patients who were using sirolimus. But the most important role in defining the morbidity and mortality in this group of patients is cardiovascular events; for this reason the abnormalities in the lipid profile must be taken seriously.

Tacrolimus plus low-dose mycophenolate mofetil in renal transplant recipients: better 2-year graft and patient survival than with a higher mycophenolate mofetil dose.

OBJECTIVES: Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has become more widely prescribed in recent years, but its adverse effects on the gastrointestinal system and bone marrow restrict its use in certain settings. The aim of this study was to compare the demographic features and clinical data for 173 renal transplant recipients who received tacrolimus (TAC) plus 1 g/d MMF (group I, n = 112) versus TAC plus 2 g/d MMF (group II, n = 61 patients) over a 2-year period. Each patient received similar TAC doses. METHODS: We compared demographic data and clinical data for each case: acute rejection (AR) episodes, chronic rejection (CR) episodes, death, graft loss, development of posttransplantation diabetes mellitus (PTDM), and posttransplantation hypertension rates. RESULTS: Demographic features were similar. There were also no significant differences between groups I and II with respect to number of AR episodes (17/112 vs 12/61, respectively), number of CR episodes (4/112 vs 1/61, respectively), PTDM, and hypertension rate (P > .05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis revealed 2-year graft survival rates of 94% in group I versus 83% in group II. The corresponding 2-year patient survival rates were 100% in group I versus 91% in group II. The graft survival and patient survival rates in group I were significantly higher than those in group II (log-rank 0.005 and 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The 2-year graft and patient survival rates for the renal transplant recipients in this study suggest that the combination of a full TAC dose with 1 g/d MMF is a better choice than 2 g/d MMF.

Kidney-pancreas transplantation: single-center experience at a university hospital in Turkey.

INTRODUCTION: One treatment option for patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus with end-stage nephropathy is combined pancreas-kidney transplantation, which can be performed either simultaneously (SPK) or following kidney transplantation (PAK). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between February 2003 and November 2004, 14 patients, including 10 males and 4 females of overall mean age of 31.3 +/- 6.1 years (range, 23-44 years), presented with end-stage renal disease secondary to type 1 diabetes mellitus. Five patients (35.7%) received SPK; 7 patients (50%) received PAK; and 2 patients (14.3%) received simultaneous pancreas and living-related kidney (SPLK) transplantations. RESULTS: Two among 14 pancreas grafts were lost in the early postoperative period secondary to venous thrombosis despite anticoagulation including 1 with poor portal drainage. Insulin therapy was reinitiated in 1 patient after a second rejection episode in the seventh postoperative month. By the ninth median follow-up month (range, 1-21 months), all kidney grafts were functioning. CONCLUSION: Our single-center short-term experience with 14 consecutive kidney-pancreas transplantations suggests that while the pancreas transplant is effective and safe to reestablish normoglycemia, this transplant creates additional surgical and immunosuppressive stresses on the patient.

New aspects of posttransplant nephrotic syndrome: clinicopathologic correlations with outcomes.

Although posttransplant nephrotic syndrome is frequent, its structural basis and prognosis have not been clearly defined. The biopsy findings of 54 patients with this disorder posttransplant, among 375 total renal transplant recipients engrafted during a 10-year period, were correlated with clinical follow-up data. The mean patient age was 41.7 +/- 12.3 years, female/male ratio 22/32, and cadaveric/living-related donor ratio 37/17. The nephrotic syndrome developed 3 to 91 months posttransplant. At the onset the mean values of serum creatinine was 2.9 +/- 1.8 mg/dL and proteinuria 4.5 +/- 0.8 g/d. The index biopsy findings showed chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN) in 33; de novo glomerulonephritis (GN) in 6, recurrent GN in 9, and undetermined GN in 6 who had an unknown primary renal disease. Among 21 follow-up biopsies during a mean of 44.3 +/- 28 months the CAN progressed but the GN remained the same. The treatment included augmented steroids alone (n = 1) or in combination with cyclophosphamide (n = 2) and with plasmapheresis (n = 1); angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) along (n = 5); calcium channel blockers (CCB) alone (n = 24); or the two types of drugs together (n = 22). Complete or partial remission was achieved in 8 and 5, respectively, but nephrotic syndrome recurred in 3 of these patients at 45.1 +/- 18 months later. Sustained remission was more likely in cases of GN (minimal change disease and IgA nephropathy) and ACEI-ARB treatment (P <.01). Graft failure, which occurred in 35 patients, correlated strongly with serum creatinine at onset, being significantly greater in patients with CAN (P <.005). Both remission of the nephrotic syndrome and graft survival were greater among patients with GN as compared to those with CAN.

Intravenous ascorbic acid administration for erythropoietin-hyporesponsive anemia in iron loaded hemodialysis patients.

Intravenous ascorbic acid administration (IVAA) could override recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) resistance in hemodialysis patients with iron overload. We investigated the hematopoietic response to IVAA in iron-overloaded hemodialysis patients. We included 36 patients whose ferritin levels were higher than 500 microg/L and who needed more than 100 U/kg/week of rHuEPO. The study included an initial phase (500 mg IVAA twice weekly was administered to all of the patients for 8 weeks) and a maintenance phase (patient groups were formed; Group 1 received IVAA 500 mg/week for 8 weeks and Group 2 received no therapy). We observed a significant increase in hematocrit and transferrin saturation and a decrease in the percentage of hypochromic red cells and ferritin levels at the end of the initial phase. The total weekly-required rHuEpo dose and rHuEpo/hemoglobin also fell significantly after the initial phase. The response remained stable in patient groups during the maintenance phase. In 6 nonresponders, the hypochromic red cells were <10%. In conclusion, IVAA effectively overrides rHuEPO resistance in iron-overloaded hemodialysis patients.

High frequency of amyloid lymphadenopathy in uremic patients.

Amyloid lymphadenopathy has only been reported in case report form, or in small groups of patient groups within large series. We believe that amyloid lymphadenopathy is common in uremic patients, and thus designed this study to determine the frequency of this condition in hemodialysis patients, and to assess its types and patterns. We reevaluated 46 uremic patients' lymph node biopsies for amyloid deposits. We also immunohistochemically identified the protein origin of these deposits using Amyloid A, kappa, lambda, beta2 microglobulin, and transthyretin antibodies. Histopathologically, we observed for vascular involvement, follicular deposition, and diffuse deposition. We detected amyloid deposits in 10 of the 46 (22%) patients' lymph nodes. The patterns of deposition were vascular involvement alone in six specimens, vascular involvement plus follicular deposition in three, and vascular involvement plus diffuse deposition in one specimen. Amyloid AA type protein was present in seven nodes, beta2 microglobulin-related amyloid in two nodes, and immunoglobulin-derived protein (AL) in one node. We assessed these 10 patients for causes of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and other conditions that might relate to amyloidosis. The cause of ESRD in the seven patients with AA amyloid were renal amyloidosis secondary to Familial Mediterranean Fever in four, glomerulonephritis in one patient who had bronchiectasis and Castleman's disease, unknown in one patient who had bronchial asthma, and pyelonephritis in one patient who had no characteristics that could be linked with AA type amyloidosis. The causes of ESRD in the two individuals with beta2 microglobulin-related amyloidosis who had been on long-term hemodialysis were pyelonephritis and glomerulonephritis. The cause of ESRD in the patient with AL type protein was glomerulonephritis, and this patient had no systemic disease. We conclude that amyloid lymphadenopathy is, indeed, common in uremic patients. Amyloid type AA is the most prevalent form of amyloid protein in uremic patients, but amyloid type does not always correspond with underlying cause of renal failure, or with the presence of systemic disease.